Nik Argiropoulos

Weekly Picks

AM's Players To Watch - Week 5

Welcome to the AM's Players To Watch for Gameweek 5. As long-time readers of my columns will know, my advice in seasons gone by had revolved around games that would allow you to make unlimited transfers each gameweek, selecting an entirely new 11 players if you so wished. Unfortunately Yahoo Fantasy Premier League is a glorious but distant memory, while Togga, sadly, was not able to return for this campaign which put an end to the Perfect XI column I'd been penning for the past two years.

This season I'll be a bit more general in my advice. Whether you're playing Official FPL, FPL or Fantrax Draft, Fantrax Salary Cap, Sky Sports, The Sun, The Telegraph or any number of other the fantasy games available to fans each season, I'll be offering my top five picks for the week ahead, mixing "must-haves" with hunch picks and players flying under the radar. Hopefully this will offer something for everyone, whether you're considering captain options, looking to make a transfers or pick up a free agent in draft.

Before we move on to Gameweek 5 let's take a quick look back at how we faired before the international break. The players I recommended were:

Unfortunately unexpected injuries struck, with Zaha failing to make the starting line up and Walcott lasting less than an hour. There was plenty of success elsewhere with Mendy picking up yet another assist and Hazard putting in a match winning performance with a goal and full bonus points in FPL. But the real hero was Glenn Murray who bagged twice as Brighton battled to a draw against Fulham. Aguero, my captain, had to settle for a solitary assist, but not a bad week's work overall.

Chelsea and Manchester City have the pick of the match-ups with home games against Cardiff and Fulham respectively. Wolves will also fancy their chances at home to struggling Burnley and I like the look of Everton hosting West Ham and Bournemouth at home to Leicester. With that in mind ...

Callum Wilson (FW- Bournemouth v Leicester) - Two games without a goal for Callum Wilson - what is going on? In all seriousness the Bournemouth striker has been continuing to lead the line with purpose and is creating when not scoring, with two goals and three assists returned in his four matches so far. We haven't quite worked out whether it will be Wilson or Josh King on penalty duty over the course of the season but I generally prefer Wilson as a fantasy options as he's been getting on the end of most of the chances. Expect the mini goal drought to end in front of his home fans.

Eden Hazard (MF / FW - Chelsea v Cardiff) - Back-to-back apperances in this column for Eden Hazard and with good reason, with the attacker looking well rested after the World Cup. Despite only starting two Premier League games he already has two goal and two assists to his name with match-winning performances against Newcastle and Bournemouth. The Blues have the pick of the fixtures this weekend with the Cardiff defence unlikely to be able to handle Hazard in full flight so expect bumper fantasy points from the Belgian regardless of the format you play.

Raul Jimenez (FW - Wolves v Burnley) - One of the first things I did while researching this week was to check to see who Burnley were playing. Sean Dyche's usually tight ship has sprung a leak this season with the Clarets conceeding way to many chances and way too many goals in the opening four matches. This bodes well for Wolves in gameweek 5 and Raul Jimenez seems the player most likely to benefit. The Mexican forward only has one Premier League goal to his name but has taken more shots than any of his teammates and is bound to get opportunities at Molineux on Sunday afternoon. Bank on him taking at least one of them.

Marcos Alonso (DF - Chelsea v Cardiff) - A second obvious Chelsea pick but there's no point beating around the bush. Marcos Alonso has been nothing short of outstanding over the first four weeks of the season with a goal, five assists and two clean sheets. If you're still without the Spanish wing-back then you must do you upmost to find a way to get him in to your fantasy side before the Stamford Bridge clash with Cardiff on Saturday afternoon.

Gylfi Sigurdsson (MF- Everton v West Ham) - After a difficult first season at Goodison Park Gylfi Sigurdsson is enjoying life under Marco Silva, with a change of playing style taking some of the burden off him to be the sole creator in every match. This reduction in pressure has seen the Icelandic talisman play with more freedom and we've seen glimpses of his very best work. He'll certainly be expected to perform this weekend with Richarlison suspended and Theo Walcott still struggling with injury and I fancy Gylfi to do just that by getting himself on the scoresheet.

Captain choice: Sergio Aguero (FW - Man City v Fulham) - A solitary assist was disappointing in Week 4 vs Newcastle but Fulham are leaking goals and I expect Aguero to profit this time around as City win comfortably.

That's it for Gameweek 5. Check out the Rotoworld Features page to access a host of fantastic content to get you ready for the new season. If you have any questions about a specific player or your own fantasy team then feel free to post them in the comments below or hit me on Twitter (@nikarg) and I will get back to you.

Thanks for reading - good luck to all managers this weekend.

Welcome to the AM's Players To Watch for Gameweek 5. As long-time readers of my columns will know, my advice in seasons gone by had revolved around games that would allow you to make unlimited transfers each gameweek, selecting an entirely new 11 players if you so wished. Unfortunately Yahoo Fantasy Premier League is a glorious but distant memory, while Togga, sadly, was not able to return for this campaign which put an end to the Perfect XI column I'd been penning for the past two years.

This season I'll be a bit more general in my advice. Whether you're playing Official FPL, FPL or Fantrax Draft, Fantrax Salary Cap, Sky Sports, The Sun, The Telegraph or any number of other the fantasy games available to fans each season, I'll be offering my top five picks for the week ahead, mixing "must-haves" with hunch picks and players flying under the radar. Hopefully this will offer something for everyone, whether you're considering captain options, looking to make a transfers or pick up a free agent in draft.

Before we move on to Gameweek 5 let's take a quick look back at how we faired before the international break. The players I recommended were:

Unfortunately unexpected injuries struck, with Zaha failing to make the starting line up and Walcott lasting less than an hour. There was plenty of success elsewhere with Mendy picking up yet another assist and Hazard putting in a match winning performance with a goal and full bonus points in FPL. But the real hero was Glenn Murray who bagged twice as Brighton battled to a draw against Fulham. Aguero, my captain, had to settle for a solitary assist, but not a bad week's work overall.

Chelsea and Manchester City have the pick of the match-ups with home games against Cardiff and Fulham respectively. Wolves will also fancy their chances at home to struggling Burnley and I like the look of Everton hosting West Ham and Bournemouth at home to Leicester. With that in mind ...

Callum Wilson (FW- Bournemouth v Leicester) - Two games without a goal for Callum Wilson - what is going on? In all seriousness the Bournemouth striker has been continuing to lead the line with purpose and is creating when not scoring, with two goals and three assists returned in his four matches so far. We haven't quite worked out whether it will be Wilson or Josh King on penalty duty over the course of the season but I generally prefer Wilson as a fantasy options as he's been getting on the end of most of the chances. Expect the mini goal drought to end in front of his home fans.

Eden Hazard (MF / FW - Chelsea v Cardiff) - Back-to-back apperances in this column for Eden Hazard and with good reason, with the attacker looking well rested after the World Cup. Despite only starting two Premier League games he already has two goal and two assists to his name with match-winning performances against Newcastle and Bournemouth. The Blues have the pick of the fixtures this weekend with the Cardiff defence unlikely to be able to handle Hazard in full flight so expect bumper fantasy points from the Belgian regardless of the format you play.

Raul Jimenez (FW - Wolves v Burnley) - One of the first things I did while researching this week was to check to see who Burnley were playing. Sean Dyche's usually tight ship has sprung a leak this season with the Clarets conceeding way to many chances and way too many goals in the opening four matches. This bodes well for Wolves in gameweek 5 and Raul Jimenez seems the player most likely to benefit. The Mexican forward only has one Premier League goal to his name but has taken more shots than any of his teammates and is bound to get opportunities at Molineux on Sunday afternoon. Bank on him taking at least one of them.

Marcos Alonso (DF - Chelsea v Cardiff) - A second obvious Chelsea pick but there's no point beating around the bush. Marcos Alonso has been nothing short of outstanding over the first four weeks of the season with a goal, five assists and two clean sheets. If you're still without the Spanish wing-back then you must do you upmost to find a way to get him in to your fantasy side before the Stamford Bridge clash with Cardiff on Saturday afternoon.

Gylfi Sigurdsson (MF- Everton v West Ham) - After a difficult first season at Goodison Park Gylfi Sigurdsson is enjoying life under Marco Silva, with a change of playing style taking some of the burden off him to be the sole creator in every match. This reduction in pressure has seen the Icelandic talisman play with more freedom and we've seen glimpses of his very best work. He'll certainly be expected to perform this weekend with Richarlison suspended and Theo Walcott still struggling with injury and I fancy Gylfi to do just that by getting himself on the scoresheet.

Captain choice: Sergio Aguero (FW - Man City v Fulham) - A solitary assist was disappointing in Week 4 vs Newcastle but Fulham are leaking goals and I expect Aguero to profit this time around as City win comfortably.

That's it for Gameweek 5. Check out the Rotoworld Features page to access a host of fantastic content to get you ready for the new season. If you have any questions about a specific player or your own fantasy team then feel free to post them in the comments below or hit me on Twitter (@nikarg) and I will get back to you.

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